Budgeting

I’m back to saving. I told y’all I was weird. I have these moments where I splurge and then I have these moments where I save. I’m in the saving season. 😉

I am really focusing on saving for next year as I foresee a move. I need to be financially prepared to take a hit if everything doesn’t go on as planned. Details forthcoming re: “move” 😉

So I’m trying to save some money every month. When I think about all of my expenses – it seems utterly impossible.

::throws in Christian saying::

But with God ALL things are possible 🙂

I’m cutting expenses like shopping and dining. The other expenses like car, insurance, student loans are long term commitments, so they are here to stay for now. 😦

One thing I hope to cut at the end of the year is my gym membership. I pay $32/month ($384/year). Too much money. Either I will exercise at the park or get a cheaper gym month to month membership.

Another huge thing that I want to practice is tithing. I want to get on that 10/10/80 plan. 10% for God, 10% savings, 80% to live on. I truly believe that God looks out for his flock. I haven’t been consistent in this area of my life but I’m working on it.

I have also downloaded the Mint.com app. It keeps track of your spending. Mint.com sends emails. It lets you know where your money goes so you know what to cut back on. You can link all your accounts to one place. And best of all it’s a free app cause y’all know a sistah is on a budget. 😉

Lastly, a trick I learned from my dad. He is against ATM cards as he thinks you are more prone to spend frivolously with a ATM card. My dad says he pulls cash from the bank and once he uses that money there is no more to use until he goes back to the bank. If you use your ATM card you’ll be more prone to keep on swiping because the money is so accessible. I think he has a great theory. I’ve had $20 in my wallet for like a week. I have wanted to buy somethings but I always think that once its gone I won’t have any more cash on me. So my mindset is to only spend it on something thats absolutely worth it. So I’m going to pull out cash for the month and I will have to make dew with what I have for that month.

So these are some ways I plan to stay on track. Any other tricks or tactics you’ve used that have helped?

Like this:

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Budgeting”

Oooh…I like this 10-10-80 plan! I’ve never really thought about it like that. Your dad is smart! I remember in my personal finance class in college my professor taught us that trick about taking out cash only once a week (or every two weeks) and working off of that. It really does work better because people have a harder time parting with cash if they carry it physically than if it was on a card- where you’re unable to easily keep track of how much money is left. Girl yes! I’mma jump on this saving train with you cause I can’t be living broke for the rest of my life! I refuse! LOL! Good luck!